Gaza-Egypt crossing closed after Hamas takes over border

The Egyptian border crossing was closed for Palestinian Arabs seeking to leave Gaza on Tuesday, a border official said, as infighting between the PA and Hamas increases.

Gazans seeking to return from Egypt would still be allowed through but no one would be able to leave the coastal enclave, a spokesman for the Hamas-run authority in charge of the border crossing said.

"For now, it is just for one day, it is not clear if it will be extended," spokesman Wael Abu Omar told AFP.

The Palestinian Authority announced on Sunday it would withdraw its staff from the Rafah border crossing -- the only way for Gazans to leave the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave that bypasses Israel.

The PA blamed interference by Hamas, the Islamist terror group that controls Gaza, following claims of widespread arrests of members of Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party in the enclave.

While the Hamas terror organization controls the coastal enclave, the Palestinian Authority took control of Rafah in November 2017, as part of a deal for Egypt to reopen a border that had been entirely shut from August that year and largely sealed for years before that.

The deal has since broken down and Abbas has taken a series of measures against Gaza.